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Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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Nuclear Science and Engineering
June 2026
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
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Reimagining nuclear materials for the future of medicine
Nuclear medicine has come a long way since Henri Becquerel first observed the penetrating energy of radioactive materials in 1896. Today, technetium-99m alone is used in more than 40 million diagnostic procedures every year—from cardiovascular imaging and bone scans to cancer detection—making it the undisputed workhorse of nuclear medicine. That single statistic tells you something important: An enormous portion of modern diagnostic medicine rests on a surprisingly narrow foundation, one built around a small number of aging research reactors that were never originally designed for continuous isotope production.
The ANS Standards Board (SB) has established the Risk-informed, Performance-based Principles and Policy Committee (RP3C) as a committee that reports directly to the SB. The RP3C is responsible for the identification and oversight of the development and implementation of RIPB approaches in ANS standards. Activities for training and knowledge sharing of RIPB principles and practices are part of the scope. The RP3C Community of Practice (CoP) is one of the more successful ongoing training activities. These principles are applicable to standards that address the design, construction, operation, evaluation and analysis, decontamination and decommissioning, waste management, and environmental restoration for nuclear facilities. The RP3C is not authorized to develop consensus standards or other similar products.
Chair:Steven Krahn, Ph.D. Vanderbilt University
Vice Chair:Brandon Chisholm, Ph.D. Southern Company
Last modified October 14, 2025, 5:22am CDT